Billionaire Ineos founder reveals plans to produce his 'son of Land Rover Defender'

Billionaire businessman Jim Ratcliffe wants to launch Britain’s biggest independent car company, building “uncompromising off-roaders” that can take over where the Land Rover Defender left off.

The founder of chemicals giant Ineos wants to produce a “rugged offroader, which is unbreakable, go anywhere and does not have the reliability problems of the Defender” and is “100pc not a Chelsea tractor”.

Mr Ratcliffe is a fan of the now discontinued Land Rover Defender, which went out of production in 2016, and said he wants to create a car that fills its gap in the market - something he believes Jaguar Land Rover will not do when it launches a new version of the car in two years' time.

The last Land Rover Defender rolls off the line at JLR's plant in 2016Credit:
PA

“We are going to produce something they are not,” he said. “Theirs will be more high volume and not what the Defender used to be.”

With a fortune estimated at £3.2bn, Mr Ratcliffe is known for his adventuring in Defenders and has bemoaned its loss. He said that while the original vehicle had a ruggedness found in no other car, its reliability left something to be desired.

“When I go on safari in Africa I always go in a Land Rover, but I always bring a picnic basket,” he said, referring to the risk of breakdowns.

As founder of one of Britain’s largest private companies, he is planning to draw on Ineos’s resources for the £500m to £600m investment that will be necessary to get the new 4x4 car - called “Projekt Grenadier” - on the road. Mr Ratcliffe has set a target date of 2020 to get first models rolling off the production line.

Mr Ratcliffe said his company's other industrial businesses meant it know 'quite a ;lot' about manfuacturingCredit:
Getty

“In an ideal world we would build it in Britain because that is where the heritage is,” said Mr Ratcliffe, speaking as he unveiled his plans at Belgravia’s The Grenadier pub, and which gave the project its name.

“The UK needs to arrest this decline in manufacturing but it has to make economic sense to build it here.”

The company has a target of producing 25,000 cars a year, priced at about £35,000. However, Mr Ratcliffe said he still does not have a design for the car or a name. “We’re running a competition for the name but it’s like a child - you need to see it before you name it,” he said.

Ineos is in discussions with the government about possible state support to construct the facilities to produce the car in the UK, Mr Ratcliffe said, adding and is considering sites on the country’s Eastern seaboard.

“We absolutely want the government involved and we have an emotional attachment to the UK, but we cannot let that override the economics.”

Ineos is one of the biggest private companies in the UK

However, production could be in Europe, he conceded, adding that there are a wealth of redundant car plants in Germany, which could reduce start-up costs, as well as the possibility of EU funding. Using a contract manufacturer would also be considered.

Brexit could throw hurdles in the way of production in the UK, but the billionaire said he had faith that a deal would be done.

“There will be a common sense outcome to Brexit,” he said. “Big commercial organisations in countries such as Germany are not going to be cut off from such a big market - they will not allow politicians to get overly emotional about it.”

Ineos is closing in on designs for the new car, which will come with a 3-litre diesel, 4-litre petrol and hybrid power trains. A team of 200 engineers is being assembled for the engineering and design work and Mr Ratcliffe said once production starts a plant would employ 1,000 staff and support up to 10,000 jobs in the supply chain.

He dismissed concerns that privately held Ineos has no experience in the complicated world of car design where other small UK companies have failed.

“We would not be doing this if we were not serious about it and thought we could make a profit,” Mr Ratcliffe said. “We think we know a fair bit about manufacturing from the chemicals side of the business: putting in £600m is a lot of money and we have got to balance the books.”